Return of a lost friend
by Rangerfan58
Summary: AU of Kindaichi's police adventure. full summary inside. profile explains how i choose to rate things
1. Chapter 1

_What you recognize I don't own. This is an AU of the other story, what if instead of Akechi and Kenmochi being thought dead it was Li who was believed dead? Li was captured by a different group who hated police and tortured and killed officers shortly after capture most times but not with Li, instead they did their best to brainwash him with partial success in that while he forgot that he was a police officer and he also forgot his true name he wasn't part of the group willingly and he never killed unless he absolutely had to, thus he was moved around to various groups to try and get him into compliance which simply never worked and so he was relegated to being a prisoner that was locked up and tortured on a regular basis, whenever he was moved he was blindfolded and never told where he was. This story starts differently due to how long it takes to brainwash people (or at the very least torture someone into a particular way of thinking) as such it's been four years since Li was abducted and three and a half years since he was declared presumed dead, with Akechi and Kenmochi alive Kindaichi has mentors from the start when he joins the police force after graduating high school. Also texts are in asterisks, it's understood that they're speaking Japanese, English will be bold while foreign language is italicized. And phone conversations will be completely written out for the most part _

Kindaichi finished signing a piece of paperwork, looked up at the clock, sighed and then got up and went over to Akechi's desk and tapped on the shoulder of the person currently at said desk seeing as how the person had nodded off

"Come on ossan, nap time over"

Kenmochi looked up, got up and stretched and then simply nodded

"Thanks for the reminder Kindaichi, is Akechi back?"

"Not yet, then again..."

"Yeah"

They both look at the calendar for the nth amount of time to the rest of the department and then Kenmochi speaks up again

"Think Akechi will make it back in time for tonight?"

"Not sure, but remember that he said not to wait up for him if he doesn't get back on time"

"True, just hoping that he does make it back considering..."

"Considering how important it is and our private vow"

"But as police officers we also knew that this was a possibility from the start"

"Yeah"

And hour later and the person the two were talking about walked into the department looking tired but his eyes said everything to the two who knew him best

"Got the confession and the true suspect?"

"Yes, didn't think I would and would be forced to stay but I did it"

"How'd you manage to get a flight back so quickly?"

"It was already arranged by the department with the airline"

"Got it"

And so the group deals with reports and everything else until an alarm goes off and with that alarm Akechi stands up and taps both Kenmochi's and Kindaichi's shoulders

"It's time you two"

"Right"

And so the three leave the office for reasons unknown to all but those above Akechi. An hour later and the three were at a private, and secret location, with matches at the ready the three wait for sundown before lighting two torches that were next to a large piece of stone which Kindaichi kneels in front of to put flowers down and then after he stands up speaks as already agreed upon

"Hey Li...been four years since...well since that day and three and a half years since...the result of that day, we're still trying to find them for you and everyone else on this stone but it's slow going...it's hard you know, we miss you a lot"

"I think he would be proud of you none the less Kindaichi, both in your insistence on learning English as well and as quickly as possible and the way you've handled the private and separate investigation while still doing your best on your main assignments"

"He would probably also be proud of how you've become a detective in only two years of being on the police force"

"Would've joined sooner if not for that incident setting me back a year"

"Couldn't be helped unfortunately, that situation was a bomb waiting to explode and it did"

"Yeah, just wish it hadn't exploded when it did, set a lot of people back a bit"

"We know, you took the worst of it though in how long you were delayed"

With that the three simply remain silent for over an hour standing vigil when finally Kindaichi speaks up

"You know, it's still hard whenever I remember the day we found out about his disappearance"

"We wanted to keep you and Nanase out of it but...at the same time we couldn't due to history"

"You know you never did say how long you kept it a secret amongst yourselves"

"We waited a day after we found out ourselves to give the Hong Kong police time to search by themselves"

"Then again they themselves ultimately waited three days to tell us"

"Thus why we're lighting the torches today instead of in a few days from now"

"Yeah"

Unfortunately the three could not stay their vigil all night long and were forced to leave four hours after lighting the torches so that they could get home and get sleep, but since they all had the day off the next day they knew that they would all meet up at a small restaurant to truly remember their lost comrade, and have Miyuki beside them at that time seeing as how she was currently not even in Japan but was expected to be back by the time they met up for lunch. The next day the four of them meet at the agreed time and simply have coffee and lunch and eventually Miyuki speaks up

"It's hard to believe it's been almost four years since we learned of his disappearance"

"Yeah"

"Do you guys think we would have ever been told if it hadn't been Li's wish?"

"Hard to say, I _do_ know that Hong Kong would have at the very least informed us about the group that abducted Li at some point, especially if it looked like we were going to be threatened with their presence and not already know about their movement and activities"

"That's something at least"

"Have you two been..."

"Keeping up with our Chinese like you and Ossan have Akechi? I know that I have, don't know about Miyuki here though"

"I have been, not as easily as you three since I don't have anyone to practice with but I've kept it up"

"Hey I don't practice with those two, I have my own person I keep my practice up with"

"I see, though I wish you two hadn't learned of it that ways"

"It was probably for the best we did find out that ways unlike how you two found out Ossan"

"Maybe"

And with that all four of them are remembering how they had found out about Li's disappearance


	2. Chapter 2

_Four years earlier_

Kenmochi and Akechi were simply doing paperwork when suddenly Akechi's phone rings

"Akechi speaking go ahead"

"**This is Superintendent Akechi of Tokyo MPD?**"

"**Yes, may I ask who's calling?**"

"**I'm with the Hong Kong police, you know a detective Pai-Long Li of the Taiwanese police correct?**"

"**Yes I do, in fact I am in regular contact with him since we had a case together**"

"**Indeed, can I have your e-mail information? I need to send you something and e-mail is the fastest way I can think of**"

"**Of course**"

Akechi gives the person his e-mail information and confirms with the person that he received the e-mail before hanging up. Once he does Kenmochi speaks up

"What was that about?"

"Not entirely sure, though I know it involves detective Li somehow, someone from Hong Kong just sent me a link, let's read it together, if it's in English I'll translate it for you"

And so Akechi opens the link and sees a Japanese newspaper instead, and the prominent headline was the disappearance of one detective Li. As they read and check the date they find that Li had been abducted by a dangerous group three days earlier and that a search was currently in progress but that given the nature of the group the search would only last for a short amount of time

"We need to tell at the very least Kindaichi about this"

"Not yet, let's give them another day before doing so"

"But Akechi..."

"Kindaichi would understand Kenmochi, besides that if they delayed telling law enforcement then they must have had a good reason, as such we will keep this under wrap until after twenty-four hours pass, then we'll tell Kindaichi about this"

"Guess you're right, what about Nanase?"

"Go with the flow, if we catch the two of them after school then we'll tell them together, if not leave it up to Kindaichi to tell her"

And so they keep a lid on the news for twenty-four hours and then simply wait for school to let out after Akechi called to see if there was any further news about Li and getting a negative let him know he was about to do what he really, really hated. Meanwhile Kindaichi and Miyuki were discussing their possible futures with each other as they walked out of school that day, but seeing Akechi and Kenmochi both there stopped that cold, the look in their eyes made it that much worse in Kindaichi's eyes because he could tell that something serious was going on

"Come on Miyuki, looks like Akechi and Ossan have something to talk to us about"

"Yeah"

And so the two go over and all they're told is not in public and so they go to the police station where the two are led to a private area

"What's going on Ossan? Akechi?"

"Yesterday we...we received a call from police in Hong Kong, they sent me a link to my e-mail after confirming I knew detective Li, Li's reported missing, has been for four days now, suspected that he's been abducted by a group that hates police"

"Which means that there's not much we can do right now"

"Exactly, let Hong Kong deal with it for now, we'll get involved later if possible"

And so the group simply waits and wonders when they'll have to take action, eventually Li is declared as deceased and an incident blew up in everyone's faces delaying Kindaichi's entrance into the police force, but once he'd entered Akechi and Kenmochi mentored him from the start and while he wasn't quite ready to test for detective he was pretty close to being ready

_Present_

"So Kindaichi, has anyone else caught onto your secret investigation?"

"Not yet Akechi, and the only reason you two know about it is because I involved you from the start"

"Would you have if we didn't know you?"

"Not sure"

"Kindaichi..."

"Only because of the fact that between you two being busier than me and the fact that I might not have ever started the investigation I'm not sure if I would have involved you two except when I collapsed"

"That makes sense then"

The four simply continue to remember their lost friend but eventually have to split up for the rest of the day. The next day at work Kindaichi received a surprise first thing at the start of his shift, he was called in by his superiors and told that if he felt he was ready for it he could take the detective test

"Wait really?"

"Yes, you've been doing very well in the field and many of the officers who have worked with you have stated that you're practically a detective in all but name, which makes sense considering you've helped with cases in high school and are being mentored by Akechi and Kenmochi as well"

"Have you talked to the two of them about this?"

"No, we deliberately have kept away from them seeing as how they would have skewed ideas about your skills"

"I see...I'll do it but...don't tell those two until after the results are in, maybe we can find some excuse for me to be absent for that day"

"Yes, and we're going to use a very old but very good excuse that isn't that far from the truth"

"Okay, let me know the date then and I'll get to it"

"Will do, we'll make the arrangements soon I promise"

"Okay"

"And for the record you three haven't hidden the side investigation you've been doing regarding detective Li's disappearance four years ago as well has you thought you have, we haven't said anything since you three don't let it interfere with your work and we understand why you have to investigate even with the fact that he was declared deceased after half a year of no leads. You three can keep doing the investigation but no more sneaking around about it and you'll have open support the moment you have a concrete lead, I'll be telling Akechi and Kenmochi in person about this so don't say anything to them the moment you leave the office"

"Yes sir"

And so Kindaichi left the office and was then immediately called out to a case, this was because of the fact that Akechi and Kenmochi were dealing with a different case and the officers only trusted Kindaichi, Akechi and Kenmochi with the situation at hand


	3. Chapter 3

"So, what's the situation?"

"There's been a murder, but the clues are a bit confusing and the stories..."

"Right, let's get to it then"

Kindaichi starts helping and quickly realizes what was going on

"Okay, the Puppeteer from Hell is involved"

"Who?"

"Takato Yoichi, he's framed me for a crime once and made it difficult for me at other times"

"I see, can you figure out the rest?"

"Yeah I have all the clues"

And so Kindaichi solves the case within three days, and then went straight to Kitami to help Akechi and Kenmochi out with their case

"So, how was your case?"

"Takato Yoichi escaped again"

"I see, he's not involved in our case but..."

"Serial killer is making it hard on you guys"

"Exactly"

"Then maybe I can help solve it"

"Agreed"

And so the three work on the case and eventually solve part of it, they don't catch the serial killer but they do manage to figure out that a copy cat was involved and caught the copy cat

"Well, one out of two isn't bad"

"Especially with the fact that you came straight from dealing with the Puppeteer from Hell"

"No kidding, he's a tricky opponent to deal with"

They hear their flight and head back home. Once home Akechi and Kenmochi learn that the investigation regarding Li was no longer a secret from the higher ups and that if there was a solid lead the three would have the full backing of their superiors to follow it as far as they could. What went unsaid but was definitely understood by the three though was not only verbal support if there were any leads but also the unspoken emotional support that they'd been lacking the entire time they were doing their side investigation because they'd actually had leads the entire time but most of them fell through and it was emotionally draining on them to learn that they had followed a cold trail, it had actually almost forced them to quite a few times they were that emotionally drained, but they also picked themselves back up after a time, but it was getting harder each and every time and their superiors could tell that, it was actually part of why they were deliberately making Kindaichi a detective when they were, not only so that he could be with Akechi and Kenmochi on more cases and thus coordinate their efforts regarding Li's case more smoothly but also to give the group the emotional support they needed by being basically all on the same level even if Akechi was a Superindentant. The emotional support wasn't just the three of them being together in a more official capacity though, it was also them making sure that they were okay and providing a safe place to vent, a neutral person, though they were unaware of that at the moment purely because of the fact the higher ups were simply waiting to inform all three of them of the support that they now had with their superiors

"So...when are we sending Kindaichi away for the test and lying to those two?"

"Two weeks from now sounds about right"

"Okay then"

And so two weeks later Kindaichi is told that he was to go to a location for detective training with a visiting detective and since that was done occasionally no one thought it strange, but once Kindaichi arrived at the location he realized that he was taking his detective test. Three hours later and he was back at the station and not saying much except that it was interesting working with a detective that knew he wasn't going to be around for very long

"I'll bet, now then you have a patrol to do I'm afraid"

"Understood"

And so Kindaichi goes on patrol and nothing really happens. Two weeks later he, Akechi and Kenmochi were all called into the office of their superior

"First off let me start off by saying we lied to you Akechi and Kenmochi, Kindaichi wasn't helping a visiting detective two weeks ago, he was instead taking his detectives test, Kindaichi the results are in, and effective immediately you are hereby promoted to detective and will work most if not all of your cases alongside Akechi and Kenmochi"

"Thank you"

"By the way, how's your side case going?"

"Not good we...we haven't had a solid lead in three weeks I...I don't know if..."

"Kindaichi, you, Akechi and Kenmochi are going to be seeing someone soon about the side case but I think you three need to vent right now about it, when we said you had our backing we also mentioned in regards to making sure you three had emotional support. I'm sure the three of you solving cases together will help with that but it's been two years since you joined Kindaichi, and four years since Li disappeared, you three are emotionally drained by that I'm sure"

"I guess you're right"

"By the way Kindaichi, we're sending you to America next month"

"What for?"

"Primarily as practice for your English, however at the same time they asked for an exchange program to possibly be started and we've decided that you'll be the first test officer for the program"

"I see, how long do I have to prepare for the trip?"

"Three weeks"

"Understood"

And so three weeks later Kindaichi goes over to the US and does training with them and learns things that were still being perfected in the country thus why it hadn't yet spread out to other countries

"**Now then, your initial training is just going to be for a month, however that might be extended if we feel it is needed for any reason**"

"**I understand**"

And so things are initially calm but then a raid on a building was done and Kindaichi was called in and while he seemed disinterested in most of the information while looking at the scene he suddenly whipped around at hearing something unexpected

"**...Fingerprints are to be analyzed at the lab but the blood work testing that we were able to do on site gave us three different blood types, O-positive, A-negative and B-negative, while that doesn't give us much it does mean that...**"

"**Wait...say that last blood type again**"

"**Sir?**"

"**Do it**"

"**The last blood type we got was B-negative**"

"**When...when will we have the results of the fingerprints?**"

"**Not until tomorrow at the earliest, primarily because we couldn't get decent fingerprints off of the surfaces, some of them were smudged while others were hard to see in the first place for whatever reason**"

"**I see...I see, I guess I'll have to wait for the fingerprint analysis**"

"**Detective Kindaichi?, is there something important about the blood work?**"

"**Possibly, but the fingerprint analysis will be confirmation of...of something important to me**"

"**Understood**"

The next day the results were in and the police chief led the debriefing about said results

"**Okay people, all but one of the fingerprints came back to known criminals in the area, but one of the prints had to be run through Interpol to even get a match, and that match is both confusing and not good news, not good news at all**"

One of the officers raises their hand and once acknowledged speaks up

"**What's so worrying about the Interpol match sir?**"

"**This**"

As soon as the picture is brought up Kindaichi stands up so fast that his chair falls over and while the chief would have reprimanded Kindaichi normally the obvious shock in his eyes prevents that, that and the fact that Kindaichi slipped and broke the rule about not speaking Japanese in the debriefing room unless talking to his Japanese superiors over the phone

"It can't be...after all this time it couldn't possibly be that easy...I couldn't possibly have missed by this much...plus..."

"**Kindaichi...Kindaichi I don't know all of what you said but it's true, it really is him, Interpol ran those results themselves twice when the fingerprints came up. Detective Li of Hong Kong, or Taiwan whichever you prefer is alive, and from the amount of blood we saw most likely an unwilling prisoner, it also makes sense with where the fingerprints were discovered. He's not to be declared a criminal until he takes action against us and even then we won't press charges immediately due to obvious mitigating circumstances since he might be fighting us by force**"

Everyone had sucked in air at hearing that the person on screen was a police officer, even if they were a foreign police officer the implications were understood and then waited with bated breath to see how Kindaichi would respond

"**I...I request permission to call two of my fellow detectives and extend my month long stay**"

"**Denied, I'm sorry but it's just not doable Kindaichi, these people will have gone underground by now due to yesterday's raid and we have no idea when or where they'll pop back up, I will make sure that you, detective Kenmochi or Superintendent Akechi are notified if we ever find detective Li but I'm afraid that staying when there's no further leads is impossible**"

They could tell he wasn't very happy about it, but they also saw when Kindaichi conceded to the chief about the conversation that had just happened and then the chief speaks up again

"**Now that everyone knows why it's not a good thing that detective Li's fingerprints are at the crime scene let me explain why it's confusing and why I said that detective Li is alive, Li was declared dead just over three and a half years ago after going missing just over four years ago due to being abducted by a group that doesn't like police officers and generally kills them brutally, sometimes publicly and very quickly, that he's been alive and in the hands of criminals for this long doesn't bode well for us or him mentally, physically and emotionally**"

The debriefing continues but everyone could tell that Kindaichi wasn't really following it, as it was the other officers were only just barely able to follow the debrief after the shock they had received regarding the fact that an officer thought dead was actually alive and they had been just hours behind in rescuing him. Once the debriefing is done Kindaichi is called to the chief's office and while no one knew exactly what was discussed everyone could tell that Kindaichi was looking much better and more in control, but when he went to his phone they got very confused because they could have sworn that Kindaichi had been ordered not to call his two fellow officers over to America, they knew the instant he made a connection though since he went straight into Japanese

"Hey Akechi, I know it's late over there but I need to talk to you immediately"

"Why call me and not Miyuki?"

"It's police related"

"Kenmochi isn't here Kindaichi"

"I know, he told me yesterday about the case he's working on, unfortunately I need to pass on word to you and you'll have to pass it on to ossan"

"What is it?"

"Li's alive, his blood was found during a raid, as was his fingerprints, Interpol confirmed it was him"

"Do you need me to come over?"

"No, the chief said that the group would have gone underground by now so it's pointless, but still the fact that he's been alive this whole time..."

"I know Kindaichi, I know, hopefully good news will be at the end of this journey, I'll tell our superiors that we have a solid lead in the meantime"

"You mean, _they_ might be able to allow me to stay past the month long training?"

"Possibly, we'll see how that goes once I talk to them in the morning"

"Understood"

"But we'll obey the rule of Kenmochi and I not being allowed to go over there, it does make sense after all, and you'll probably be on a time limit for finding him"

"I know...I think I'm going to need to see the specialist once I get back depending on how the search goes"

"Kenmochi and I will too considering..."

"Yeah"

Ultimately Kindaichi was allowed to stay longer than the month long training, but only by two weeks and he was ordered to talk to the police psychologist during that time to start working on his emotions and everything else associated with the fact that Li was alive and they were the closest that they had been for the past two years, which he did


	4. Chapter 4

"**I see, how did you meet him in the first place?**"

"**Through Miyuki actually, you see Miyuki was asked to replace a model, but the model replaced Miyuki, there was also a murder case and the model was behind the killings for complicated reasons, the model has completed her sentence now but...it's as hard on her as it is on my fellow officers, harder actually since the model is Li's youngest sibling, his only sister**"

"**I see...and were you close after that first case?**"

"**No, that actually happened when I went back to Hong Kong and was accused of murder by a person who was manipulated by someone called Takato Yoichi, also known as the Puppeteer from Hell**"

"**What made you close after that case?**"

"**Various things really, when Miyuki and I learned he was missing we were still in High School, when he was declared dead...it wasn't pretty believe me, and then I was delayed in entering the police for a year because I needed to heal from injuries**"

The session ended soon afterwords and Kindaichi leaves while the therapist was simply in awe of what Kindaichi had gone through and how loyal he was to someone who lived far enough away that distance between the people was only natural. Eventually though Kindaichi had to go home and everyone knew he was disappointed and frustrated with the fact that no further leads had come up during his time in America, but with a promise to continue the search and let him know immediately if any new leads regarding Li came up, Kindaichi left the States more willingly than he might have otherwise orders or no orders. Once he landed he saw that Akechi was waiting for him

"Hey Akechi"

"Kindaichi, it's good to see you, I'll explain more once back at the station but while Kenmochi and I are a little upset that no further leads were given while you were in the States, the fact that last we knew Li was alive is soothing for us"

"But he might now be..."

"More than likely though he's still alive, if they've kept him alive this long I doubt they'll kill him so easily now"

"Okay...okay I guess I can believe that"

"It's the only thing we can do now Kindaichi, now then once you're rested you have a case alongside me and it's in Hong Kong"

"Wait but...why are we going to Li's...?"

"They requested our help with a confusing case, one that practically screams of Takato Yoichi"

"I see, then let's go"

"Not until you've had rest and reported back in, our superiors know about the case but they need to talk to you about something else first"

"Understood, and I guess you're driving me home?"

"Considering the time of day and your flight hours yes"

"Fine"

Once in the car Kindaichi quickly falls asleep as Akechi knew he would and so he simply lets him sleep until they got to Kindaichi's apartment where he helped the sleepy man to his bedroom and though he knew Kindaichi wouldn't remember it spoke quietly before leaving

"I'll pick you up in the morning if possible, I'll also let the bosses know that you might be in a sleep coma"

Once he left Kindaichi's apartment he called one of his contacts in the US at the department Kindaichi had been at and learned that Kindaichi had stayed up for practically forty-eight hours catching fifteen minute catnaps if that in the time leading up to the flight and Akechi knew that Kindaichi didn't sleep on airplanes, not since an incident during his police training which made Kindaichi paranoid about falling asleep no matter how long or short the trip was

"**I understand, I will let our superiors know that he won't be in for a few days**"

Akechi then talks to his superiors about how Kindaichi would be asleep for quite some time and then contacts Hong Kong and let's them know of the situation as well, fortunately everyone on all sides was understanding of the situation, though Hong Kong had yet to be informed of the fact that Li was alive, this was a decision actually made by Interpol which the US agreed on since it was very likely Li would be found dead or at the very least temporarily put into custody while everyone figured out just how willing he was in doing whatever tasks he had been given by the criminal organization he was with up to and including fighting law enforcement

"So how long do you now expect it to take?"

"About a day and a half before he can be debriefed completely sir"

"Understood, I just wish he would ask for help regarding his plane issues"

At hearing that Akechi simply sighs and shakes his head

"That's the thing sir, he's asked for help regarding the plane issue and every therapist he's gone to has stated that he'll never be able to sleep on a plane again, or if he ever does it will only be for short periods of time, they've done everything they can for him because there was a time he contemplated never getting back onto a plane again and that would have prevented his police career"

"I see, then we won't speak further regarding his flying issues, though before that happens I do have to ask how often he still sees this therapist"

"He's down to twice a month visits and the only reason he never spoke to them about Li is because this therapist is a specialist for flying issues and has actually requested their patients to see another therapist for any other issue they might have"

"I see well in any case let us know when Kindaichi's actually coherent so that we can have that needed talk before you two head to Hong Kong, though if he's asleep long enough then Kenmochi will be able to join you on your trip"

"Indeed, that...that would be nice, are you and America certain that it's better we keep Li's survival a secret?"

"This is an order from Interpol Akechi, granted while they technically have no legal authority over us we've agreed to go with their suggestion because of the fact that it's better that they don't know that Li's alive until we have all the facts regarding his situation"

"Very well, in any case I'll check up on Kindaichi later today and see how he's doing"

When Akechi finally does check up on Kindaichi he found his young friend definitely still asleep and so simply stays the night just in case Kindaichi did wake up and wasn't completely aware of where he was because that had happened to all three of them in the past two years when dealing with long cases where they stayed up extreme hours to catch the criminal, which is what actually happened twenty hours after Kindaichi came home and so Akechi helped Kindaichi get back to bed after taking care of basic necessities and two days later Akechi knew that Kindaichi was truly coherent with a simple sentence

"Hey Akechi, what are you doing at my apartment?"

"Hello Kindaichi, making sure that you're okay after what you did in the States and then flying for as long as you did"

"Ah, makes sense, have an appointment with the therapist soon by the way"

"You'll need to reschedule it"

"What for?"

"Guess you don't remember me saying that we're needed in Hong Kong"

"I don't"

And so Akechi explains that Hong Kong wasn't going to be told about Li but at the same time they knew that Li trusted the three officers from Japan and so asked for help since it looked like Takato might be involved in the case and also explained that originally Kenmochi wasn't going to be going to Hong Kong with them but now was since he was back from his own case, he also mentioned that their superiors wanted to talk to Kindaichi first about something else


	5. Chapter 5

"Right, meet with the superiors first, go to Hong Kong second, and I get why they can't be told of Li's survival Akechi, if...if he has amnesia or is forced into fighting fellow law enforcement..."

Akechi sighs at that

"I know Kindaichi, I just...I just wish that they could know the truth"

"So do I, but it's better that they continue to think of him as deceased until we know one way or the other because there's still a chance he'll die"

"Very well"

And so Kindaichi talks to his superiors and then the three head to Hong Kong where it turned out that Takato wasn't involved this time but the reason it seemed like it had was because the person had idolized Takato and did their best to do a crime like he would have

"At least it wasn't Takato, that would have made things worse"

"Agreed"

"You know, since we're here maybe we can..."

"Yeah, let's ask them about it"

And so the three visit Li's grave and put flowers on it, and while it was hard for Akechi, Kenmochi and Kindaichi not to say the truth of the matter in front of the grave they managed and gave him a partial update in front of the grave and then they left

"I hope that someday they can know the truth"

"Agreed but maybe...maybe they can receive good news while learning the truth"

"Yeah...maybe"

And so the group leaves and simply continues solving crimes knowing that Takato was still out there and that the US would call them if they got any further leads regarding Li, and so this continued for a year where they took on cases with most not involving Takato but a couple did and wondering when they would get any further leads in regards to Li's situation. Meanwhile in the US once Kindaichi was forced to leave with no further leads on Li's location the department Kindaichi had been working at sent out a nationwide alert regarding Li and his situation as far as the department knew of it, naturally the ire of the entire US police force was risen because of what they had found out and the FBI was just waiting for a chance to get involved with the group that last had Li in their grasp so that they could take part in the hunt for Li legally, and bring federal charges against his captors. The entire US police force also understood though that Li might be a temporary enemy depending on various factors but they also hoped that they could bring him back quickly if that was the case, what no one knew was that Li would finally be found in Phoenix, Arizona in bad shape and with the FBI's help due to the fact that things started in Las Vegas, New Mexico with a drug raid where there was a group of people in bad shape and one of them spoke up after a time

"**They're gone, the people who enslaved us are gone**"

"**You were definitely slaves?**"

"**Yes, we've been traveling around in blindfolds but we always know that we're in a different state, some of those with us are only kids**"

"**Looks like we're going to need the FBI to get involved in this, do you know where they went?**"

"**Arizona, they said that they were heading to Arizona, they...they also had a foreigner with us that they took, they called him the special slave, the foreigner spoke decent English though he sometimes slipped into another language that no one recognized**"

"**I see...do you know of anything that the foreigner touched recently that we can use for fingerprints?**"

"**Yes, and also...also DNA, there's a torture room, they...they raped and tortured him right before they abandoned this place, drugged him too to make him more compliant**"

"**I see...can you take us to that room?**"

"**Yes, I...I was in that room too recently, they never raped me but...**"

"**Threatened it enough and tortured you in the meantime?**"

"**Yes**"

"**You don't have to go into the room but we do need directions, and once you show us to the room you're getting taken straight to the hospital where the rest of the group is being taken**"

"**There's...there's something you should know about the majority of us, most likely we're declared deceased in the system, even the younger kids who haven't been with us for very long, these people like to fake deaths apparently**"

"**We'll help everyone get their lives sorted out again I promise, but in the meantime...we need to see that room to process it**"

And so the police are led to the torture room and they process it, though it wasn't easy for them because they could obviously tell that the torture elements had been used recently

"**There's evidence of semen recently as well**"

"**We were warned that the person was raped, how much more needs to be done to process the room?**"

"**Not much**"

"**Right, well in the meantime we have to contact the FBI and let them know that they need to get involved in the case, and run everything as soon as possible I want an identity on that foreigner yesterday**"

"**Understood**"

And so while the group waits for word on who the foreigner was they get in contact with the FBI and get that ball rolling and also start the process of getting people's lives back together, dealing with paperwork that let the government know that people declared deceased were actually alive

"**This paperwork is a headache**"

"**I'm just glad that these people haven't been declared dead for ten or fifteen years, **_**that**_** would be much more paperwork and a bigger headache than what we have right now**"

"**Good point, the longest someone has been declared as deceased is two and a half years, and we got lucky with the kids, the longest a kid has been deceased so far is eight months**"

"**Any word back yet regarding the foreigner?**"

"**Not yet, but hopefully soon**"

Suddenly the computer beeped and the officer in front of it used very, very strong language

"**What's wrong?**"

"**Our luck regarding paperwork just ran out, the fingerprints for the foreigner just came back, and...they're to a deceased officer with one other hit in the US and thus their status as deceased hasn't been changed by decree of Interpol**"

"**Say what?**"

"**We need to have an emergency meeting with the FBI, **_**now**_"

"**But they'll take at least an hour to arrive**"

"**Then as soon as they arrive, I'm telling the chief in the meantime, this isn't good, not good at all**"

And so an hour and a half later everyone was in the main meeting room and most of the local officers were confused, the FBI agents there were stone faced and not showing if they were confused or had any emotions at all and the chief and three officers looked suddenly very, very tired and worn out

"**Okay, everyone or at the very least most of those here are most likely confused about what's going on, including the FBI agents since they're from Phoenix and will be coordinating with the agents on the ground in Arizona, this is because of this man right here**"

The chief clicks a button and a picture of Li pops up on the screen

"**This is a picture of Pailong Li, he's a detective with Taiwanese police, but he's stationed in Hong Kong and was working on getting Hong Kong citizenship and joining the Hong Kong police force officially, he could do both of that because he's originally a Hong Kong citizen but moved to Taiwan for complicated and sealed reasons, he's been declared dead for about four and a half years after being abducted about five years ago by a group known to kill police officers. His fingerprints first showed up about a year ago in San Francisco California and he disappeared right before he could be discovered there, now then the FBI already knows this but if we get any further information about him, and I am going to have to do this once this debriefing is done you are to contact three people in Japan, this person right here is detective Hajime Kindaichi, this is detective Osamu Kenmochi, and this is Superintendent Kengo Akechi, these three officers of the Tokyo MPD are known friends of detective Li and there is a note in the case file that one of these three **_**must**_** be contacted whenever there's a lead, I simply haven't done it yet due to not only the time difference but also the fact that I needed to properly debrief everyone first so that you understood just how important this case is**"

"**Wait...won't you need translators though to contact those three?**"

"**Not entirely, if I reach Kenmochi then yes I will need a translator but according to their files Akechi and Kindaichi are both profecient in English**"

"**I see, so...this means we're going to have Japanese officers come over soon I guess?**"

"**No, I think they'll be convinced to stay over there until we have a more solid lead on Li's location besides simply Arizona**"

"**In any case we have a lot of work cut out for us in the future**"

"**Indeed we do, now then I have an unpleasant phone call to make**"

And so once the debriefing is done the chief does indeed make the necessary and unpleasant phone call reaching Kenmochi which means that a translator was needed but fortunately dealing with an older officer also meant being able to reason with him in regards to the fact that it was better to stay in Japan until there was a more solid lead besides simply knowing that Li was some where's in Arizona. When Akechi and Kindaichi came back from an investigation he had just finished the phone call


	6. Chapter 6

"So, who was that from?"

"A police officer from Las Vegas, New Mexico in the United States, we have a lead on Li's location, he's apparently been taken to some where's in Arizona, they found his fingerprints during a drug raid where they discovered human trafficking and slavery"

"We have to go over there now"

"No Kindaichi, we don't even know where the criminal organization actually took Li besides a different state, the US is huge with their states sometimes being a decent size as well, we have to wait until we receive word from the American law enforcement that they have found Li before we head over there"

"But I..."

"I know Kindaichi, I know"

And so while the three Japanese officers could only wait with worry, hope and longing (which their therapist had to deal with on a daily basis unfortunately since the three rotated schedules) the American police were simply determined to find Li and bring him home after so long of being away and thought dead. The smaller towns were cleared first while everyone knew that the cities, especially the bigger cities would have to be cleared at a slower pace. The FBI were chaffing at times at the slowness but everything had to be done legally and so slowly was the only way to go in the bigger cities, but finally three months after their solid lead in Las Vegas they would find Li in Phoenix, Arizona during a combined drug and slave raid

"**Okay everyone, if you cooperate no one will get hurt, now then we're pretty sure that some of the people here are slaves and we're also pretty sure that this is a drug lab so we're going to be bringing in dogs to search for drugs and will be checking everyone to see if they're legally allowed to work here**"

Soon enough people were separated into two groups, those legally allowed to work in the States and those not, and those not legally allowed to work in the States were obviously slaves due to their poor conditions, the raid also revealed a lot of drugs and then one of those legally allowed to work in the States and hadn't known everything that was going on (that turned out to be the majority of those legally allowed to work in the States, only a few higher ups knew about the slaves and the drugs being manufactured) spoke up

"**Um officer...**"

"**Yes?**"

"**Two things, first of all I didn't know about what was going on at the work place, but more importantly, there's a room that most of us were told to stay away from, if anyone got near it if they weren't supposed to they were immediately fired with no explanation, I can take you there if you want**"

"**Thank you, and we'll sort out who all knew what was going on here at a later date, for now though we appreciate you showing us that room**"

And so the police are escorted to the room and once the door was opened the smell was horrendous, enough to make even the most seasoned officers feeling ill, but what was worse was what they saw on a table _that_ made even the most seasoned officers actually ill, they saw what looked to be a recently deceased person on said table, but once one of the officers regained control of their stomach they did what they hated to do which was check for a pulse to declare death, but that's when they received a surprise

"**I need a couple of paramedics in here **_**now**_**, this person's still alive**"

The paramedics rushed in, did what they could and then rushed away leaving no answers as to the condition of the person other than what was already known, they also couldn't get an identity off of them until the doctors were done. Two hours later the chief was waiting for word on the person's condition when a nurse came out

"**The John Doe is still in surgery however I've been cleared to take fingerprints for the police and have done so, here's the card**"

The chief sees the standard card used to identify fingerprints and hands it to an officer who was waiting for just that sort of thing

"**How much longer will they be in surgery?**"

"**Not sure right now, as it is...we almost lost the person twice now, he's in very critical condition and might be forced into a medical coma once surgery is done to give them a chance to heal without dealing with any pain**"

An hour after the fingerprints were sent off the waiting room was filled with ten more officers waiting for word on the unknown (to the chief and the medical personnel) person

"**Okay, why is everyone waiting for word on our mysterious person?**"

"**Because he's one of us chief, he may be from Hong Kong, but no matter if they're an American police officer or a foreign police officer, he's one of us**"

"**What...what's his name?**"

"**Pailong Li**"

"**That's...**"

"**Yes sir it is, the FBI has already been notified and they said that they're going to be taking care of calling his Japanese friends who are also police officers**"

"**I see, but we don't have any real news for them yet**"

"**Just the fact that he's been found will be enough for them for the moment, by the time they arrive we'll have further news I'm sure**"

"**We're not going to be able to convince them to stay behind in Japan are we?**"

"**No we're not, not with how long he's been declared dead and the three knowing the truth of the matter**"

Four hours after _that _the doctor came in

"**You're here for the John Doe that you rescued correct?**"

"**He's no longer a John Doe, but correct we're here for him**"

"**Tell us his name later, in the meantime...**" (sighs) "**I guess the best news out of all of this is that he's most likely going to live if he survives the next forty-eight hours without anything serious happening to him, as the nurse already told you according to my directions when we gave the update we'd already almost lost him on the operating table twice at that point in time, we nearly lost him a third time shortly after that update was given. He's in serious condition and will remain so for a long time after he's past the critical point which I gave as forty-eight hours, he's been drugged so often I don't know what that will do to his body since we can't gently ween him off of any of those drugs since we have none available to us, he has an obvious head injury, his left leg is shattered in three different places and will need further surgery just to stabilize it completely later on since the orthopedic surgeon couldn't find a lot of bone to piece the leg back together so he'll have permanent rods in place, his right ankle has a simple fracture which will take a bit of time to heal but no surgery needed thankfully, his right collarbone is broken, his left shoulder was dislocated, several times from what we can tell, both arms are also broken though again no surgery will be needed for the breaks to heal fortunately, a quarter of his liver is gone because it was simply too badly damaged, had to take out part of his intestines due to the damage there, there was a lot of internal bleeding that we had to take care of...oh yeah three cracked ribs, two broken ribs and bruised lungs because of the damage to the rib cage, and we have him on dialysis since his kidney's are in failure due to everything he's been through, which actually includes starvation and dehydration**"

"**How is he alive?**"

"**A miracle, that's all I can say, it's a miracle that he's still alive right now, now then what's his name so that we can put it on the chart?**"

"**Pailong Li, an officer will be with him at all times by the way, not just because he's at risk of being abducted but because of the fact that he's one of us, he's a police officer out of Hong Kong and you know how protective we are regarding one of our own**"

"**Yeah I know, and I remember the one time a foreign police officer was in here due to cross training, that wasn't a pretty sight**"

"**I'm sure it wasn't, now then is he in recovery?**"

"**Unfortunately yes and will remain there for at least an hour**"

"**Understood, anything else we should know?**"

"**Yes actually, he's going to be on blood transfusions until further notice and due to the head injury he most likely has amnesia**"

"**Understood, what room will he be taken to once he's out of recovery? I want to check that room first**"

"**Of course you do, I'll have a nurse take you to the room in the meantime**"

"**Thank you**"

An hour after the group clears his private room Li's brought out of recovery and he definitely didn't look the greatest, he was hooked up to several machines that were currently keeping him alive and also hooked up to several IV's, one was a combination of hydration and the drugs needed to keep him in an induced medical coma, one was the blood transfusion, one IV was simply for nutritional needs and the last IV he was hooked up to was a combination of various antibiotics and more hydration fluids. As for the machines he was hooked up to, he was on dialysis, a machine that breathed for him, a heart monitor, one that helped with the draining of wounds to help stem infection if possible, and one that was attached to a catheter so that the doctors could monitor urine output

"**I think...I think we need to prepare his friends before they see him once they arrive in town**"

"**Yeah, definitely agreed on that, add in the fact that he's going to be in a medical coma for an undetermined amount of time means that they might not be able to stay until he's awake**"

"**Good point, bet they won't like that bit**"

"**Too bad, things are what they are**"

"**Um...about the officers we're going to need a translator since we know that one of the officers doesn't speak any English that we know of**"

"**Once I know their flight details I'll get a translator arranged**"

Suddenly a new voice speaks up

"**No need, we FBI agents will handle that part, we're also going to be joining you in protecting detective Li**"

"**Understood, I know better than to fight you on this**"

Four days later and Akechi, Kenmochi and Kindaichi are escorted to the hospital with the FBI agent explaining things to them so that they wouldn't be ask shocked when they finally saw their friend for the first time in years, but the agent also knew that there would still be shock involved since no one could walk into that room and _not_ be shocked at all the equipment and IV's Li had in him, the only saving grace was that Li was no longer on blood transfusions which meant that his body had started the road to recovery

"I see, well I guess it's time to see him again for the first time in a while"

And so the three were escorted into the room and were visibly shocked at his condition, what they didn't notice was that they were being given privacy by everyone, or at the very least as much privacy as was available with armed guards at the front of the room. Eventually though the doctor had to come in and when he was noticed Akechi is the one to speak up

"**When will he be brought out of the coma?**"

"**Hard to say, he's only two days past the critical forty-eight hours and still needs a lot of support from us and a lot of healing left to do, plus at least three more surgeries to completely deal with his leg which he would have to be sedated for anyways**"

"**Is he at risk for ultimately losing his leg?**"

"**According to the orthopedic surgeon we have a good chance of saving the leg in it's entirety, but it's going to be work, he got the majority of the bone fragments out during the initial surgery but he still has some cleanup work to do in there and then there's at least two more surgeries to put in all the rods he's going to need in order to simply stand on that leg, I will admit that amputation was discussed when we realized the leg was shattered in three different places but the surgeon said that there was just enough bone fragments at two locations that he can work with them**"

"**Which means he's looking at months to years of physical therapy because of the other broken bones you haven't mentioned yet**"

"**Fortunately just months since the rest of the broken bones can mend without any surgery, they just need to be in casts for the time they take to mend, though admittedly he might need surgery on his shoulder in the future if it becomes a problem with how long it had been dislocated in the first place**"

"**Then why not do surgery now?**"

"**His body can't take it, he may be out of critical condition but it's still serious enough that we're willing to let the body heal what it can without intervention before doing what we have to to keep him working as a police officer...if that's even possible after being tortured for so long...you should also know that we didn't say anything but detective Li was raped, and quite a few times at that**"

"**Was...was there evidence of it being regular?**"

"**Unfortunately yes, the damage that we saw does indicate that he was regularly raped, we just don't know how often and with the fact that he most likely has amnesia we may never find out, but we gave the police the samples needed for testing and the guilty parties will be convicted though we know it's not much comfort for any rape victim**"

"**It's something at least, though...it also looks like we won't be here for his awakening**"

"**Not unless you have a **_**lot**_** of leave accrued, he's looking at being in the coma for a minimum of two to three months while we let his body heal and do the ****remaining surgeries needed**"

The three officers from Japan were very grateful to learn that there would be officers around the clock not only to protect Li but also talk to him even while in a coma so that hopefully he'd recognize a few voices when he was allowed to wake up and know he was safe, especially because they were only allowed to be in the States for a week

"**Are we...can we tell Hong Kong and Taiwan about him being alive?**"

"**Yes, and just like with the others we rescued we're already starting on the paperwork needed to get him declared as alive, it's going to take longer considering how long he's been declared deceased but we'll get there eventually**"

"**We'll help on our end, as will his fellow officers once they find out that he's alive**"

"**So when are you leaving?**"

"**Next Wednesday, we only got a week's leave**"

"**Right, you three have unlimited visiting hours, the police visit during normal hours and bring their families too so he does have visitors, and most likely we'll get a couple of friends or comrades at the very least once he's been revealed as alive to people overseas but they'll unfortunately be limited to normal hours if only because of the fact that I know that they won't be able to stay for nearly as long as you three are**"

"**You're right they won't be...wait how do you know why we're able to stay for so long?**"

"**Your medical files were sent over, I'm temporarily the police doctor which means I get everyone's medical files including visiting police officers**"

"**And thus you know that this is a mandatory vacation for us except for some training in new computer things that are supposed to make things easier with repeat criminals**"

"**Exactly**"

And so a week goes by with the three getting in the training they needed but also primarily staying with Li the entire time, they had also informed the other two locations that needed to hear the truth regarding Li but what no one knew was that no one from Taiwan or Li would come except Li's family, but only because it would cost too much money and not enough vacation time between the two locations. Four months after Li was admitted into the hospital, one month after the doctors declared they would start weening him off the dialysis, and two weeks since his final surgery for his leg Li was weened off the medications that kept him in an induced medical coma


	7. Chapter 7

"**Now all we can do is wait for him to come out of it himself once the drugs wear off, I do warn you that he might pretend to be unconscious longer than he actually is since he might not feel completely safe at first, and as I warned everyone from the start there's a chance he'll have amnesia, as such keep what you've been doing and don't refer to him by name, not until we do neurological checks, once that's done we'll start seeing if we can't trigger any memories with his name and the photos his friends and comrades have sent over regularly**"

Three days later and Li was fully awake and able to have the neurological tests needed done and it was quickly obvious that he did have amnesia, quite severe amnesia too because he didn't know his own name, what his job used to be, and he'd also forgotten the four years of torture and rape

"**All of the amnesia is hopefully temporary, especially his name and occupation, but don't be surprised if he doesn't immediately react to his name whenever you use it, but hopefully consistency will help him realize we're telling him his actual name so that should help eventually**"

"**Right, plus he still has a long road ahead of him doesn't he?**"

"**Yes he does, and for the record we're going to take things slowly, first let him get used to his medical condition and started on physical therapy and then when we feel he's ready start actually really working on his memories with pictures and letters**"

And so the long road to recovery for Li begins, and hearing his own name did help with consistency but they could tell that he didn't exactly believe them regarding his name, a month and a half into therapy they started reading Li the letters his friends and comrades had written him while he was in a coma but there was still no real spark of memory

"**It's looking more and more like his amnesia might be permanent**"

"**Actually I want to try one more thing first**"

"**What's that?**"

"**Chinese, we get one of the officers who speaks Chinese to read the letters that we **_**haven't**_** read to him because it's written in a foreign language, and maybe also the ones written by that Kenmochi guy which means we'll need a Japanese speaker as well**"

"**You know that might actually work, let's give it a try and go from there**"

And so a week later they start reading the letters that were written in Chinese to Li through an officer that spoke the language, and though it was brief the officer in the room and the doctor and nurse could have sworn they saw a spark of _something_ in Li's eyes. This would continue during the entire time Li was in inpatient physical therapy, though it was becoming more and more obvious that Li's memories _were_ being triggered, the trigger was always brief, or so they thought because in actuality Li was internalizing the language and the words being said, hoping each day that an actual memory besides vague flashes would come to him and then the day he learned he would now be considered an outpatient he did have an actual memory come to him and that memory was the last time he saw his Japanese friends in person two months before his abduction

_Two months before abduction_

"Well I guess this is goodbye then"

"For now yes, but I'm hoping to get some time off soon and come visit you guys instead of you visiting me"

"That would be nice, we'll give you a tour when you do come over"

"I'll call once I can arrange the time off"

"Please do, Kenmochi and I will arrange to take some time off as well while you're over there"

Suddenly the group's flight is heard overhead on the intercom

"Well, that's our flight"

"Yeah, hope to see you soon Li"

"Same here Kindaichi"

And with that the Japanese group boards the plane not knowing that would be the last time they would actually see Li for about six years after having thought him dead for about three and a half years

_Present_

The people around him had stopped talking and simply waited for him to come back to the present when they realized that he was actually _remembering_ something, and that one memory trigger actually triggered all but his captive years in regards to memory, though he also remembered where he was at the present and the fact that he was stuck there for a bit longer due to his medical condition (which he was thoroughly confused about)

"**Mr. Li?, are you OK?**"

"**I...I remember...I'm detective Li of Taiwan though I was going through the process of transferring to Hong Kong...why am I in the US?**"

The doctor who had been called when it was obvious Li was in a flashback sighs at hearing that

"**Detective what do you remember last?**"

"**I was going to be meeting someone regarding a case of mine, and then...nothing until I woke here in obvious need of medical attention**"

"**Right, first thing you need to know is that you're missing about six years of memories, the second thing you need to know is that we're not going to be talking about those six years since we want you to remember on your own if at all possible, but I **_**will**_** tell you that you've had a rough six years**"

"**I see...is those six years part of why there's always a police officer with me?**"

At that the doctor simply looks to the police officer in the room which let the officer know that it was his turn to speak up while trying not to force any memories on him

"**Partially, most of the danger has passed we believe, but we're also here in support of a fellow police officer, one who's far from home**"

"**I see...thank you for being by my side during this time then**"

And so Li was discharged from in hospital therapy but he still had to go to outpatient therapy for a while longer plus while he was mostly weened off of the dialysis he still needed it twice a week so he knew he wouldn't be going any where's quite yet

"**Um...where am I staying?**"

"**Don't worry things have been arranged I promise**"

And so Li is taken to a very special apartment, one that had long been partially owned by the police since they kept a running rental agreement even when empty because that was one of the few safe houses that didn't look like a safe house, it was also used in case a foreign police officer was going to be training with them for an extended period of time

"**This is where you'll be staying for now, everything regarding the facility is already paid**"

"**But the contract...**"

"**Is under the police department's name, this is a safe house Li, or for situations like yours where a foreign police officer is going to be here for an extended period of time and needs a place to stay while here, generally the officer is training with us but your situation has also happened once**"

"**I see, thank you for explaining things to me, are there at least basic necessities?**"

"**Yes, and we're going to be helping pay your groceries while you're here...don't argue we also do this for foreign officers training with us and people using this as a safe house**"

"**Very well, um...where's the post office and what are it's hours?**"

"**Want to write to some people huh?, well the post office is closed on Sundays and regular hours are between 8-5 last I checked, as such you can't send anything out today, but you can still write the letters now if you want**"

"**I just realized I have no envelopes**"

"**Don't worry, that's one of the things we tend to keep at the apartment for situations just like yours where someone will be away from home for a time and will want occasional contact with friends and family back home**"

"**Thank you**"

And so the next day Li sent out several letters to people who he knew would be relieved to hear from him, especially since the letters would make it obvious that he at least had some of his memories back, but he also knew that they wouldn't push him regarding exactly how much he remembered. A month later and Li is told that he was finished with dialysis except for two check up sessions where he would not be hooked up to the machine but would have blood work done just to make sure that what the labs said was the absolute truth and that his physical therapy sessions were being cut back to twice a week, he was also told that his abductors that had escaped initially had been caught but that since he didn't have any memories he would not be called to testify against them regarding his time in their captivity

"**I see...how long was their justice delayed?**"

"**They were seen as fast as possible in all honesty after their initial trial, due to...well things that happened while you were in the coma and not in the coma a lot of trials were delayed until recently, fortunately everyone involved understood to a degree what was happening including the prisoners so they know that their rights to a speedy trial were not waived deliberately**"

"**Why wasn't I told about this sooner?**"

"**Honestly it was because of the combined fact that we wanted, and still want you to remember things on your own and the fact that with court cases delayed for a period there wasn't really a need for you to know about them, especially since as far as the courts are decided you can't testify, your amnesia doesn't help matters in some ways but it protects you in others**"

That night though Li would start to remember the past six years of his life through dreams, when he woke up each time he didn't remember what he was dreaming about, but the dreams were the start of his mind being ready to accept what he'd been through for so long. The next day he went for his usual physical therapy appointment and thought things were fine during the appointment more nightmares were triggered that night, and the next day during a psychology appointment things didn't go much better, though he was able to talk about how he felt regarding not seeing the people who hurt him being convicted of crimes he didn't even remember though he had been told most of his injuries from the start, he'd also been told that there was one thing that the doctors were keeping from him for his own sake, that they were hoping he would never remember this one situation regarding his health

"**How do you feel regarding the fact that your own health is being kept a secret from you?**"

"**I'm okay with it, primarily because there can only be a few reasons why the doctors haven't said anything with the knowledge I have amnesia, and none of them are particularly pleasant thoughts**"

"**Very well, now then you said you've been having nightmares the past two nights, can you remember the nightmares?**"

"**No I never remember them when I wake up**"

"**Understood, hopefully at some point you'll actually remember and that will likely help you in the future as well in case these nightmares are actually memories that your mind is finally beginning to process**"

"**I see your point regarding that, if what I'm dreaming is actually memories then it will help me piece together a huge blank period in my life, though I might not remember in time for the case that's going to be happening soon**"

"**Exactly, now then just remember that no one is going to force you to try and remember, your mind will allow the memories to come when you're ready to face them, the mind knows what's needed even if you don't**"

The next month isn't the easiest and Li suffers a setback which forces him to go back to daily physical therapy sessions, but the therapy sessions were just what was needed because it allowed him to watch video of the trials that he couldn't participate in and while the videos were obviously edited for not only timing but also to keep mention of whatever he was forgetting physically out of the conversation it was triggering more memories actively and not just through dreams either which everyone including Li was relieved about, though it meant more psychology appointments to deal with the memories of torture for six years, it also let the law enforcement community know that there was actually more work to do abroad regarding his captors. What Li was still forgetting but would soon be reminded about was that he had been raped repeatedly, he didn't know that some of the blood work was testing for STD's which he would ultimately be cleared for but he knew that the amount of blood work taken wasn't exactly normal for his situation but he never questioned the doctor's need for taking it either


	8. Chapter 8

"**So I guess we're agreed that you'll always need the crutch and brace, but that as time moves on it won't be needed as frequently, at least for the crutch, the brace however...**"

"**Will always be needed due to the damage done to my leg**"

"**Exactly...how have you been watching the trials?**"

"**I think I'm still missing something important that my mind isn't ready for me to consciously remember, but remembering most of the six years I've been missing has helped me greatly in reconnecting with my friends and family back home**"

"**How so?**"

"**It not only allows them to freely talk to me about the searches they did for me but also allows them to talk about what they've been through these past six years that I've been gone, especially my Japanese friends who found out about me before Taiwan and Hong Kong did, they had a heavier burden because of that**"

"**I see, um Li, the officers were talking to me about your health and...while you can't testify in court the judges are beginning to think that the jury needs to see the victim that was imprisoned the longest, but at the same time with part of your memory still missing...**"

"**You're worried I might be triggered and discover what I've forgotten and you doctors are not telling me still**"

"**Exactly, and if it should happen in court...**"

"**I know...unfortunately I highly doubt the courts would like someone to use something to make me remember forcefully, that could get the whole case thrown out**"

"**Exactly, which means we're in a pickle unless we can figure out a solution**"

Everyone thinks on it and then Li hits upon the solution

"**I have it, can you ask the judges if there's a way for me to be in a separate court room with just a lawyer and any doctors that you feel are necessary?**"

"**Why do you ask?**"

"**Video conferences, I can be in one room and everyone else can be in another, plus my end can be muted so that I don't hear anything that could trigger a flashback and if there's any videos you can control if I see said videos or not, that ways I'll be an actual person to the jury and yet not have any memories tampered with, which will keep the case clean and still allow me to remember what I've forgotten on my own, and with earpieces any questions asked can be asked to me and I can answer it depending on if my lawyer will allow it**"

"**We'll ask the judge about it and go from there**"

"**Okay, let me know when we have an answer okay?**"

"**Need time with a lawyer to prepare?**"

"**Yes, especially after being away from the court system for so long**"

"**Once we know what the judge says we'll have everything else prepared**"

Two days later and Li finds out his suggestion was accepted by the judge, who understood that it was time for the final victim in this case to speak for himself and yet be protected from memories his mind was still blocking, the judge was aware that watching recordings of the trial so far had triggered memories but the judge had also been informed that he was starting to remember anyways through dreams and thus knew that the case wasn't actually tainted

"**So...how do we go about implementing my plan?**"

"**There's a special room that is used for closed court cases, cases where the public isn't allowed to view anything, not even family of the victims are allowed in, that's the room you'll be in at the time of your participation, only the lawyer you've been assigned, two police officers as guards and the primary doctor in charge of your care will be allowed in that court room**"

"**Understood**"

Three days later and it was time for Li to be in court and the jury to see the final victim, and when his name was mentioned the people arrested paled because they knew that Li was alive, but they didn't think that the things done to him were part of the counts of charges against them because Li hadn't been the only person raped by the group, just the most frequent person they had raped. It was then explained that Li would be attending via a video conference from another room in the courthouse and once that explanation was done Li was on the screen

"**Mr. Li, I understand that rules have been established for your safety correct?**"

Everyone except the judge expected Li to answer immediately but instead Li turned to the lawyer close to him and simply waited until the Lawyer was finished talking

"**That's correct, the people on this end will control not only any video I see but will also relay any questions to me and will decide if it's better that I not answer**"

And so for two hours everyone was in the courthouse discussing the case and the charges with Li giving testimony regarding what he remembered, and then the judge called for a two hour recess since it was getting close to lunch time and he knew that the lawyer with Li needed to take care of something in the office that fortunately wouldn't take longer than half an hour but considering the office was a fifteen minute drive from the courthouse on a good day he was giving the lawyer some leeway to get what needed done, done and also have lunch himself. During the lunch break is when Li would have the final trigger for his missing memories, though no one knew it immediately not even him, instead what happened was that a customer tried to force themselves onto a waitress and the waitress needed rescuing with help from not only a nearby waiter but also the manager, but the intervention almost came too late and the position the two were in made it obvious what would have happened. When back in the courthouse the trial continued and then was suspended for the rest of the day at five, and the next two days were the same, and then the night of the third day of the trial Li was with his lawyer at the lawyer's office late due to needing to discuss things regarding the trial that was known to Li when suddenly an innocent remark from one of the officers that was his driver sent Li into a full flashback

"**So I just discovered that our late night on my wife's birthday is going to make me a father**"

"**Wait, your wife's pregnant?**"

"**Yeah, we're still young but we've been trying for a trial for a bit now, it's still early in the pregnancy but we're both happy**"

"**I'm glad, Li I know that...Li?...Li?...Li are you okay?**"

It took the lawyer and the police officer five minutes of gentle coaxing but finally they could tell that he was back in the present because the look in his eyes said that he hadn't been

"**Hey, you okay now?**"

"**Sorry about that I...I remember now what the doctors have been keeping from me, why I had more blood work than most people during the dialysis period**"

"**I see...how much have you remembered about what's been kept from you so far?**"

"**Every incident I was awake for, they...they paralyzed me while they raped me a few times, where I was fully conscious of what was happening to me but I couldn't move my body to fight back, even if I had wanted to**"

The officer and lawyer both sigh at that and then the officer speaks up first

"**I'm sorry for bringing up those memories before you were ready**"

"**I was already starting to remember after that incident at the restaurant the first day of the trial that I attended during the two hour lunch break**"

"**Oh...that incident, I'm glad...I'm glad it isn't a complete shock then since I'm sure the memories have been more nightmares than actual memories**"  
"**Exactly**"

The lawyer speaks up next

"**I suppose this means that you can testify in court without using the video conference method, and the counts of rape regarding you can be spoken in front of you without the judge worrying about tainted evidence**"

"**Depends on what the judge thinks since I want you to tell him exactly how I regained my memories**"

"**Understood, I'll call him tonight and find out for sure**"

Fifteen minutes later and Li found out that the judge decided that Li could testify in person, due to the circumstances of his memory being triggered it was still legal for him to testify seeing as how it was outside forces that made him remember and not anything that could be considered memory modification

"**However the case is being delayed two days, power outage with another case in the later part of the day means that the courthouse is shut down until we know what happened and have a temporary fix**"

"**How can so much happen for one case?**"

"**No idea, but that's probably going to be investigated soon especially since there's a couple of other high profile cases going on right now that are being affected**"

"**Can I help?**"

"**Sorry, but this is something we Americans have to do ourselves**"

"**Understood**"

Two days later and everyone was surprised when Li was on the witness stand in person instead of through the video link that they'd been doing for the past few days of the trial


	9. Chapter 9

"**As you can see the victim is in the courtroom today due to the fact that two days ago I discovered that he'd regained the last bit of his missing memories, now then before anyone cries foul over this no one influenced him mentally, instead his memories were regained through outside influences**"

And so Li began to explain everything that had happened to him in person, remembering where he had left off and then went into detail about every rape he had been forced to endure, drugged and not drugged. When questioned about his memories during the drugging part he did admit that they may have raped him during periods of unconsciousness, but that they had also made sure that sometimes the drugs were paralytics where he couldn't move while being raped but was fully conscious of what was being done to him

"**Then I guess I'm finished your honor**"

"**As am I**"

Once closing statements are done the jury is sent out to deliberate and Li's lawyer makes sure that Li was okay with what he had done emotionally

"**I should be fine, but I'll be talking to some friends later today for sure**"

"**Of course, and by the way the recordings are yours to access anytime you wish since you're the victim it's your right**"

"**Understood, I might want a copy of the recordings for future reference, other cases**"

"**Understood**"

That night he did indeed talk to his birth family for a little bit and then talked to his Japanese friends who mentioned coming over to the States in three weeks for some secretive reason that he couldn't be told about (this was because his doctors wanted to surprise him with the news that while he wasn't completely finished with outpatient PT he could go home to finish what was left, they would also inform him of being in the clear for STD's at the same time since they were there when they found out he had regained the last of his memories)

"I'll see about having someone pick you up then"

"Don't worry Li, it's all been arranged already"

"How?"

"Our bosses are involved in this"

"Oh, okay"

Once Li hung up on his end Kindaichi, Akechi and Kenmochi all look at each other for a moment and then sigh in relief

"We are in so much trouble if he finds out we lied to him"

Suddenly they hear a new voice

"It's not a complete lie actually, we _are_ involved in what's going on with Li in the United States"

"Wait what?"

"You three are the main people who got things arranged so that Li could finally come home even though his physical therapy isn't completed, however we also worked to make sure that could happen by talking with the American police about his health on a regular basis and delaying your phone calls a few times, besides that you're going next week instead of three weeks from now for some cross training and this time it's you three who will be training the American police, not the other way around"

"Okay, how so?"

"Earthquake training, they want to do earthquake training and rescuing after such a disaster happens, and what sort of evacuation plans can be given in the immediate aftermath of the event seeing as how quite frankly there's no way to evacuate during an earthquake"

"Understood, good thing Kindaichi and I speak English"

"Agreed, they'll make sure to have a translator on standby though in case they ever need to speak with Kenmochi when either of you are occupied else where's and unable to translate"

"Understood"

And so they spend the rest of their time in Japan getting ready for the trip and making sure that any active cases were transferred to officers that had been involved as well

"So...shall we tell Li that we're coming early and staying for three weeks?"

"Can't, bosses say Li can't know about us until we were originally scheduled to arrive to help him pack up to go home, though little does he know that yet"

"Understood, so earthquake training, wonder if they have search and rescue dogs on the police force or just trained for other aspects of police work"

"We'll find out soon enough"

Several hours later they landed and were driven to the hotel that they would be staying in for the duration of their stay where Kindaichi who was unable to sleep on planes immediately fell asleep and Akechi and Kenmochi followed an hour later since they arrived at night. The next day they went to the station and discovered that the department had a good starting bases with three dogs cross-trained in search and rescue and one other aspect of police work

"**We always make sure to have at least one dog cross-trained in search and rescue for...personal and also complicated reasons**"

"**How often are they tested and trained?**"

"**They are re-certified once every year and training happens at least once every three months, we have arrangements with certain facilities that make that a possibility, in fact both Rosco and Juno recently went to Central America to help with an earthquake, and by the way Juno is a girl in case you thought she was male**"

"**Let me guess the third dog here stayed behind as a precaution?**"

"**Exactly Sandra was left behind here as a precaution in case another disaster happened that required her specific skills in search and rescue, and in the meantime as a drug dog she was still helpful in other ways**"

"**Having search and rescue dogs will certainly help matters, but there's more to it than just that which is why you've called us isn't it?**"

"**Yes, we're fortunate enough to not have an earthquake yet, however there was one in California recently and as stated Central America had one recently and we helped with the Central American one since California's earthquake was actually relatively minor and they could handle the issue themselves**"

"**Understood, shall we then?**"

And so for the next three weeks the Japanese group trained the officers in earthquake evacuation and also recovery while making sure to avoid Li at all cost but _finally_ it was the day they would surprise Li

"So...how are we going to do this?"

"An officer is going to drive us to Li's apartment and then we're going to tell him the full truth including the fact that we arrived here three weeks early for training, our boss has given us permission to do so by the way"

And so an hour later and the group was in Li's apartment and Li was sitting on the couch in shock at what he'd heard

"I can truly go home?"

"Yes, you're medically cleared to return home, you'll need outpatient therapy still, and cleared by the Hong Kong police doctor to return to work but you don't have any medical issues keeping you from home, and from what we heard the case in the US is basically over with, now all that's left is the rest of the group in the international field, we're here to help you pack up"

"And you've known this for at least three weeks?"

"Uh...more like we've been here for three weeks doing training and have known about the plans for you returning home for about a month and a half"

"How did you manage to keep that a secret?"

"Making sure that we were never in the same place at the same time"

"Makes sense, so...when are we leaving?"

"Two days from now, we know that you don't have much to pack necessarily but there's a couple of things we want to do tomorrow on our last free day and we're taking you with us"

"Very well, but I'm staying in the hotel with you three then"

"The department figured you'd say that, we're going to pack up and send the majority of your things ahead of you even though you'll arrive ahead of them"

"The mail system?"

"Not much choice"

"Granted, well guess we'd best get to work then"

They had Li packed within five hours and then they were all at the hotel. The next day Li found out what the group wanted to do, besides being tourists since they knew they were going to be packing Li up for the journey home they decided to take Li to the one place he didn't think he could go, a tour of a specific location. And then the next day it was time to go home

"So um...there's something we haven't quite told you yet"

"What is it?"

"You're not going straight back to Hong Kong, our superiors actually want you in Japan for a bit to help us with your case on the international level since we've recently had officers go missing, but with the fact that you're not actually medically cleared for duty..."

"It's a catch-22 situation for them"

"Exactly"

"We'll figure it out later I guess"

"Guess so"

And so they board their flight and that's when Li learns about Kindaichi's inability to sleep during plane rides because he heard a flight attendant actually ask Kindaichi if he wanted something to help him sleep this time around and Kindaichi denied them saying nothing would work


	10. Chapter 10

"What's wrong Kindaichi?"

"Can't sleep on planes due to something that happened a couple of years ago, more explanations on the ground though"

"Understood"

Finally they landed and Kindaichi was half asleep by the time they got to his apartment and so the group simply let him sleep and Akechi and Kenmochi were the ones who explained Kindaichi's issues regarding sleeping on planes

"Won't he be mad you two gave the explanation?"

"Not really, he gave us permission in private before the flight because he wasn't sure how exhausted he would be at the end"

"Okay, what's going on?"

And so Akechi and Kenmochi explain the situation that Kindaichi found himself in one year before training to become a police officer that involved a plane

"That's why he can't sleep anymore, it's not simple paranoia keeping him awake it's the need to make sure that he's prepared for another emergency"

"Exactly, his therapist thinks he's gotten as good as he's going to get on plane rides because trust me he wouldn't even get on a plane initially"

"Has he been trying?"

"Regularly, with us and with his therapist, nothing seems to work though"

"Right, well in any case he needs sleep"

"Yeah, he doesn't have work tomorrow, there's a standing procedure regarding Kindaichi and plane rides because of his issues"

"I see, so how will I be able to help if I can't work officially?"

"That's something we're going to have to ask our bosses about"

"Maybe...maybe your doctor can certify me as fit at some point depending on how long I'm here"

"Maybe, we'll see as we go on"

"In any case it's getting late"

"Yeah, bed time for everyone"

And so they go to bed, eventually waking up and starting to try and figure out how Li would help in the meantime since he wasn't medically cleared for duty

"Let's just talk to our bosses and go from there, how's therapy anyways Li?"

"I can walk at least so that's something"

"You were also in an induced coma for a couple of months"

"That was just to let my body heal without me feeling any pain and for them to do surgeries"

"Didn't they mention recently a possible concussion that healed while in the medical coma?"

"Yes, but if I did have a concussion it was minor enough that it didn't cause any permanent damage"

"How can you know that for sure?"

"My sense of smell and taste were off for about two weeks after I woke up from the coma"

"Did the doctor's know?"

"Nope"

"_Li_..."

"Part of it was that I initially didn't even realize something was different since I was on a very bland and definitely liquid diet and was in a sterile hospital room, when I did realize that two of my senses were off I was already starting to recover them so I didn't think anything of it"

"Oh, that makes sense then"

"Yeah, anyways back to Li's situation, how about we simply drive him to the station and show our boss the tape of the trials that Li was involved in and go from there"

"That should work, and it's probably best I get a checkup anyways after such a long ride and little opportunity to stretch"

"Good point, that leg..."

"Exactly"

And so the group heads to the police station where the boss of the three expresses relief that Li had survived his ordeal, and while he wasn't medically cleared for duty they would accept his help in the form of watching the videos and then talking about what he remembered, he also got looked at by their doctor who was shocked at his medical file

"You're lucky to be alive you know that?"

"Yes I do"

"I don't know how your spleen wasn't lacerated or too badly damaged and needing to be removed through surgery"

"The doctor's aren't entirely sure how I managed to keep my spleen undamaged either"

"Good, everyone's clueless then because your memories also don't state how you avoided the damage"

"Yeah, it might have happened during one of the sedated periods of...of being raped that I should have been hurt there but it might not have, we just don't know"

"In any case, the main thing keeping you from being medically cleared right now is that leg of yours, you still have some work to do and that crutch and brace...they might keep you from being back on the force, but it's not definite yet"

"I know"

"For now though you can help us find the people who originally abducted you through watching the case in the US again with everyone and answering questions about whatever you remember from wherever you were at any given time, though the Americans sent a report regarding where you had been found and what condition you were found in"

"I see, did they also send pictures?"

"Yes, you weren't in any of them, though that's because the reports mentioned you being sent to the hospital in critical condition"

"Yes, I was barely alive when I was found and I apparently almost died during surgery three different times, as it was I had a couple of transfusions while in the coma"

"In any case I'll continue your physical therapy while you're here in Japan"

"Thanks"

"But tomorrow, today we need to do some special exercises that you might think of as physical therapy but they're not, mainly because it's exercises that _I _do whenever I'm on long flights and don't get many opportunities to stretch my legs"

"Then let's do them, I already know I need to stretch more"

"Sore leg?"

"Yeah"

And so Li is shown the exercises that definitely looked like physical therapy but weren't, and being guided by the doctor carefully does the exercises to help him, the doctor also makes sure that Li was taking a special medicine that was surprisingly not a blood thinner and yet helped prevent blood clots, however the medicine was not as effective as blood thinners were and thus were only prescribed for specific situations such as long plane rides

"Have you taken them as prescribed?"

"Yes, the first dose was one hour before the flight and then taken as told throughout the trip and I just stopped them this morning"

"Good, now then how are your legs feeling after that exercise, especially the left one?"

"They're doing good, the left one is a bit worse in regards to soreness but..."

"That's the one with rods"

"Exactly"

"And you were warned that leg would always be more affected by things then the right leg, you're going to have to be especially careful regarding weather"

"I know"

"Now then, let's get back to the group so that they know _exactly_ what limitations are on you"

And so the group simply watches the video's and questions Li about _everything_ he remembered including things that he had stated he would not be talking about since he deemed them irrelevant to the case which was true for the most part, what he remembered wasn't relevant for the _American_ case, but could potentially be relevant for the Chinese case at the very least seeing as how part of what he had heard was in Chinese

"Why not simply explain that to the court?"

"Because what I heard might not actually be related"

"Oh"

"Exactly, I heard the words primarily through doors, and then there's the fact that I think one of the drugs given to me initially distorted my hearing"

"So...what now?"

"Physical therapy primarily and maybe helping identify people that were involved in my abduction and start the other international cases"

"Do you think you'll ever be certified again?"

"Not sure guys, time will tell though, time will tell"

"Very well"

Ultimately Li was right in that time would tell if he was able to be certified as a police officer or not, he had been in Japan for two and a half months with his family visiting him twice and he had done what he could to help with the international cases as well when one day he had been called to the station that Kindaichi, Akechi and Kenmochi worked at very suddenly on a day all three were surprisingly off and once there all four were escorted to the big boss' office and saw someone strange to basically everyone

"Li, this man here has something to tell you"

"Detective Li, I've been reviewing your medical files and all notes on your physical therapy for the past month, and I am pleased to say that you are now officially a police officer again, your transfer to the Hong Kong police has been official as of a month and a half ago retroactively and per an agreement between Japan and Hong Kong you are allowed to carry your arms wherever you go in Japan just as the Japanese police officers are allowed to carry their arms while in Hong Kong"

"Thank you, but I believe my friends have some explaining to do now"

"Er, right we totally forgot about that bit didn't we Akechi, ossan?"

"Yes, we totally did seeing as how we're so used to it now"

"Okay, now then _one _of you explain please, I do not need to hear three different people telling me what happened"

"Akechi it is then since he's the only person to know the full story of how that came about"

"That's right I was, forgot about that actually, and by the way it's not my fault I'm the only person who knows the full story"

"True, but things are what they are and it's a fact of life that you're the only one who can truly explain things to Li"

"How are you the only person to know the full story Akechi?"

"Because I'm right in the middle of it unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you actually look at things now that I think about it several years in the future"

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, story time Li"

And so Akechi explains just how the agreement between Japan and Hong Kong came about regarding both sides being able to use their weapons at need in either country. How during the year Kindaichi was healing and getting ready to finally become a police officer Kenmochi was sent on a six month training period in the United Kingdom of all places, however because it was done by people who spoke Japanese fluently Kenmochi didn't really have the chance to learn English. As for Akechi he had been sent to Hong Kong because of Takato Yoichi and things got complicated with him and Hong Kong officers going back and forth, but because neither side could use weapons in their counterparts home it was hindering their ability to arrest Takato and his associates and after two incidents one in each country it was decided that both groups needed the ability to use their weapons no matter where they were and so the two governments came together and sorted things out so that their was such an agreement


	11. Chapter 11

"Wow, I guess I can see why you need your weapons no matter which country you're in, what about Hong Kong?"

"The same goes for them because while Takato isn't quite as active in Hong Kong as he is here there's some sort of criminal group that is and yet that group also likes to work in Japan"

"Might be the group that originally abducted me, or a subsection that doesn't hurt officers through abduction but other means"

"We'll figure it out once they're arrested"

"Agreed, now then in the meantime you need your badge and weapons if you're going to be a police officer helping us"

"That will take a few days to mail, fortunately I already have my passport since you guys brought that with me"

"We couldn't bring your weapon for reasons you know full well Li"

"I know"

"Give it about two days and you should have your weapon"

"More like an hour and a half"

"Wait what?"

"Yeah, there's someone who's been in Japan for the past week but they're about an hour and a half out right now"

"Then we'll wait for them before doing anything else"

An hour and a half later and the Hong Kong officer was one Li had known well at the time of his abduction and to see her as a detective was a nice surprise for him since at the time she had never expressed interest in being more than an officer on the street

"I'm surprised you became a detective"

"Yeah well...an incident helped me get things into perspective regarding my reasons for staying on the street, and no detective Li it wasn't your abduction, though I'll admit that came pretty close to being my reason but my superiors talked me down before I made any rash decisions"

"How long ago was this incident?"

This time it was Kindaichi who answered it since he had been there for said incident

"About two and a half years ago Li, I was there for that incident and...it doesn't surprise me that this time her superiors didn't talk her out of becoming a detective"

Hearing that made the detective from Hong Kong snort

"You were fully involved detective Kindaichi, don't sell yourself short on your how much was your part in this"

"Kindaichi?"

Kindaichi sighs at that

"She has a point actually Li, she found me half unconscious and was the main arrestor of the group, and the funny thing is I wasn't actually supposed to be involved originally"

"Wait you weren't?"

"Nope, pure coincidence in that regards"

"But in either case I decided to become a detective because of that case and was granted permission that time and have been a detective since"

"I see"

"In any case, it's good to know that you're not only alive but able to be back on the force detective Li, even if there are restrictions put in place on occasion"

"Yes, and that will have to be discussed in Hong Kong, by the way how are you fluent in Japanese?"

Kenmochi is the one who speaks this time

"After she saved Kindaichi and became a detective she herself requested to be one of the main liaisons between Hong Kong and us and so through sheer persistence she's learned Japanese, as for me and English Akechi and Kindaichi have been trying to teach me but I just don't learn for some reason"

"He's not kidding, every time we think we've made progress we find out that we haven't, Kenmochi has gotten frustrated to the point that we've all agreed that he shouldn't try to learn English and just make do with translators"

"I'm amazed that I've been able to remember what Chinese you taught us Li to be honest"

"Might be due to writing system similarities"

"Could be, could be"

"In any case there's still much to be done regarding your original abductors"

"Yes, there indeed is, but at least...at least those in America are safe, at least from the group that had me in any case"

"Indeed, still seeing as how long it's been since that day how are we to find any new clues?"

"Hopefully we'll be quick but then again..."

"It could take a very long time, in any case I think it might be safer for me to start doing police work here in Japan where I'm amongst friends in case anything happens regarding my leg"

"Yeah...that's actually a good idea, even if you've been separated for a long time you're more comfortable around then and let's face it they'll stick close to you more than anyone in Hong Kong at the moment since the officers in Hong Kong will expect you to simply go right back into things like before even though they know you have permanent damage and scarring"

"She has a point Li, I've seen it with another officer of Hong Kong"

"Akechi?"

"It was about a year before your first sighting, at least in regards to knowing that you were alive and potentially still in the US, an officer got shot in both the shoulder and the leg, the leg injury healed up completely with no lingering affects, the shoulder wound though...he has mobility issues and is weaker in that arm, while I was there his life was in danger at least twice because the other officers with him simply treated him as they would have without his injury. We're not saying never go back to Hong Kong, but at least let us be with you while you get back into the swing of things regarding police work, we'll be by your side and yet let you grow on your own while making sure that you're safe and fully understand your limitations"

"Thank you, let's do that then"

"In that case, here you four here's an easy, or well hopefully easy case for detective Li to start getting back into the swing of things"

"Let me guess, with all four of us involved you're doubting the easiness of this case"

"Exactly, Takato likes to play mind games with Kindaichi and you and Kenmochi get involved nine times out of ten Akechi and I know for a fact that Li's been

involved a time or two as well"

The case ultimately was straightforward though it still took a week to solve since one of the suspects that they had to interrogate and clear in the end had been in England on business for a couple of days but finally the easy murder case was solved with an arrest and confession

"So...easy as I hoped?"

"Yes, it's allowed Li to start getting back into the swing of things, getting back into form regarding report writing and interrogating suspects"

"We'll start gradually making them harder but for now if I recall correctly you four have a place you need to be"

"Good point, we'll explain when we get there Li"

"Oh...you haven't told him yet have you?"

"Nope, but it's okay, he'll understand when we arrive, I'm sure of it"

And so the group head to Osaka where he was initially confused but once the parade started he realized what was going on because this was a special parade, one that had started a year after his disappearance in memory of all officers lost in the line of duty, Akechi, Kindaichi and Kenmochi were part of the parade every year partly because they were the ones who started it all and partly because of the fact that even without Li being missing and presumed dead they all remembered other officers lost in the line of duty

"Li...would you like to represent Hong Kong and China this year?"

"Represent...in a parade?"

"Yes, this is a memorial parade, for those lost in the line of duty, we have a representative of each country and since we're the ones who started it we're the hosts and the participants and thus the representatives for Japan"

"Is there...is there another officer? I can surely represent Hong Kong but to represent China..."

"Yes there is an officer on standby for China as a precaution"

"Then I will walk by their side for this"

And so that's exactly what he does, Li represents Hong Kong while walking beside the officer chosen to represent China as a whole and eventually the parade ended with the Chinese officer deciding to pull Li aside

"_Listen Li, there's something you need to know_"

"_What is it_?"

"_You weren't the only one who went missing that year, but the other officer was found dead about six months later, all of China now knows about your survival and want's your help in figuring out what's going on but at the same time..._"

"_You're all worried about my mental and physical health_"

"_Mental yes, physical not for most_"

"_Memories are still sometimes shoddy regarding the initial abduction period, plus there's a __reason__ I'm in Japan working in their police force right now_"

"_Your leg injury_"

"_Yep, they're going to help me regain everything I lost but for now it's too dangerous for me to return home_"

"_Because everyone will treat you like before, unlike them for some reason_"

"_Exactly_"

"_Why do they treat you normally_?"

"_You'll have to ask them through translators I'm afraid since even I don't know the full story_"

"_In any case there's generally a meal after the parade and everyone breaks off into different groups based on language similarities or sometimes friends because you know full well that happens, as it happened to you detective Li in regards to Japan_"

"_Indeed, now then I'll find my friends, thank them for this and then...then discuss the future of this parade because I get the feeling that this started because of me_"

And so during the meal Li did indeed discuss the future of the parade and found out that Akechi, Kenmochi and Kindaichi had agreed and decided long ago that even if Li was found the parade would continue for as long as funding and support for the parade was available because it wasn't just about Li but _all_ officers lost in the line of duty

"I see, I guess that's good to hear, but I don't understand the meal part"

"That?...oh that part is not just for socialization and making sure that people are fed after a long day, _that_ is information gathering and everyone here knows it too, we pass on intelligence regarding cases that might be pertinent in other countries, making agreements regarding training with another country, techniques for better police work in a specific situation and much more"

"But wait...why didn't you or America..."

"We couldn't Li, we couldn't give hope to China and Hong Kong, or even Taiwan, not when we knew that there was a possibility that you would be killed at a later date, even when you were in critical condition the only reason us three from Japan knew was because of specific instructions, if not for that even _we_ wouldn't have known about your rescue because you were in critical condition for a while, you almost _died_ during surgery Li. America would have done anything to spare us what we had to see if they could have but they couldn't, at least only the three of us would have suffered the knowledge of your brief survival if you had died in the hospital due to your injuries, the rest of the world would have simply been told you had been discovered after that many years and then died after rescue and medical care that simply too little, too late due to what you had suffered"

"They would have been informed of my rescue and that my injuries were simply too severe for the American's to do much about"

"Exactly, but the world would have still known that America had _tried_ to save your life but that they just...couldn't"

"So...shall we then?"

"Yes, but stay close to Kenmochi in case of English speakers Li, the two of us who can speak English need to talk to some people about something kind of important and unfortunately Embassies aren't going to entirely work on this problem"

While Li never found out what Akechi and Kindaichi needed to discuss to people about he did find out leads regarding his original abductors. Those leads would eventually lead to their arrest and sentencing and once that was done Li was finally free. Granted that took another two and a half years and during that time Li was able to return to Hong Kong as a police officer and remain as an officer until his retirement twenty years after his return. As for his three Japanese friends Kenmochi would retire first while Akechi and Kindaichi retired at later dates, though before their retirement both Akechi and Kindaichi would be declared missing and presumed dead a couple of times, once they were both assumed dead for three years because of an explosion which caused them to have amnesia, combine that with the fact that the explosion happened in one of India's remoter towns that they were helping due to flooding and being in the water meant they washed up in an area that didn't know who they were but helped them recover and stay all the same. When the two did find out who they were they had already been recovering their memories for the past month and finally discovered their identities by pure accident, an Indian police officer from the capital had come to the small town along with the army to help with a landslide and exclaimed his shock at seeing Akechi and Kindaichi alive after three years of being presumed dead, when the officer discovered their amnesia he used a military computer to give them basic information on themselves and simply did what he could to reconnect them with people that would be better in hopefully recovering their memories which actually worked. As for the other times that they were presumed dead it was by their own choices for the assignments they had, most of which involved Takato Yoichi and his vendetta which was potentially deadly since shortly after Kindaichi became a police officer


End file.
